Trace Johnson, Palmer Bus’ director of student routing and technologies, uses Zonar Systems technology while working from home.


Additionally, Palmer Bus utilizes


nologies, said Zonar is now installed on all the company’s buses and Type III vans for 10 or fewer passengers, a total of just under 1,000 vehicles. This allows the company to track the vehicles in real time and obtain history reports of vehicle destinations, bus stops, fuel consumption, and idling infor- mation. He said it’s extremely helpful in the case of a crash to access Zonar and pull all pertinent information such as vehicle speed and provide the information to the police.


Routefinder, Stopfinder, Tripfinder and Ser- vicefinder from Transfinder. Trace explained that the Transfinder software is used on a district-to-district basis. Stopfinder is currently utilized at three districts and is being imple- mented by two more. “The feedback that we get from that has been really great,” he shared of Stopfinder. “Parents love that they’re able to see where the bus is, that it’s approaching their bus stop.” Palmer Bus’ Johnson said it helps as stu- dent’s aren’t being forced to wait outside in


cold Minnesota winters. The contractor also uses interior Pro-Vision and REI cameras on all vehicles and has been installing stop-arm cameras the past two years on school buses to catch instances of illegal passing. “The technol- ogy provides extra safety when students are loading and unloading the busses,” he said, adding that the cameras were made possible largely due to a grant from the state.


64 School Transportation News • SEPTEMBER 2024


PHOTO COURTESY OF PALMER BUS SERVICES


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